Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 14 Palestinians
Al-Awda Hospital said eight people were killed in Nuseirat, where witnesses reported a drone hit mourners outside a mosque.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip killed at least 14 Palestinians on Friday, according to Al Jazeera and Anadolu. The dead included mourners hit near a mosque in central Gaza, underscoring the continuing violence months after a ceasefire with Hamas was declared.
Al-Awda Hospital said eight people were killed and at least 20 others were wounded when an Israeli strike hit a group of civilians in the Al-Balata market area of the Nuseirat refugee camp. Witnesses told Al Jazeera the strike targeted Palestinians gathered outside the Ahmad Yassin Mosque as they prepared for a funeral procession.
The mourners were waiting to bury a Palestinian killed earlier in the day in a separate attack in the same area, witnesses said. Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said a drone struck people who were leaving the mosque as part of the procession.
Deaths reported across Gaza
Al Jazeera and Anadolu reported several other fatal attacks on Friday. In Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, a 52-year-old woman was killed when an Israeli drone dropped a bomb near Abu Tammam School.
In Az-Zawayda, in central Gaza, one person was killed and several others were wounded in an Israeli attack on a gathering of Palestinians, according to the report. In al-Sawarha, west of Nuseirat, Israeli fire hit a structure sheltering displaced people, killing one person.
Al Jazeera and Anadolu said an Israeli drone also struck an apartment in Gaza City, killing one Palestinian and wounding several others, including children. Another woman died from wounds sustained in Israeli gunfire southwest of Khan Younis, according to the report.
The reports did not provide the names of those killed. They also did not give a full breakdown reconciling each death with the overall toll of at least 14 Palestinians.
Ceasefire under strain
Al Jazeera reported that Israel has continued attacks in Gaza on a near-daily basis since a ceasefire with Hamas took effect last October. Mahmoud said drones could be heard across Gaza City and described continuing Israeli attacks on remaining infrastructure.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, known as ACLED, said Wednesday that Israeli attacks on Gaza have increased since May, according to Al Jazeera. ACLED reported more than 40 strikes in June, which it said was the highest monthly total since the ceasefire began.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Friday that 274 children have been killed since the ceasefire started, according to Al Jazeera. Haaretz said that amounted to an average of one child killed each day during that period.
Gaza has been left heavily damaged by the war, and the continued strikes have raised doubts over whether reconstruction and a return to ordinary life can begin, Al Jazeera reported. Friday’s deaths added to a toll that Palestinian medical officials and international monitors say has continued despite the truce framework.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.